Enhanced\nHigh-Resolution Triboelectrification-Induced Electroluminescence for\nSelf-Powered Visualized Interactive Sensing

Abstract

Transforming\ndynamic mechanical interactions into visualized luminescence represents\na research frontier in the detection of tactile stimuli. Here, we\nreport a self-powered high-resolution triboelectrification-induced\nelectroluminescence (HR-TIEL) sensor for visualizing the contact profile\nand dynamic trajectory of a contact object. As dynamic interactions\noccur, triboelectric charges at the contact interface generate a transient\nelectric field that excites the phosphor. From the numerical simulation,\na conductive layer based on transparent silver nanowires (AgNWs) guides\nthe direction of the electric field and confines it within the profile\nboundary of the connect object. As a result, a sharp change of the\nelectric field at the profile boundary greatly promotes the luminescence\nintensity as well as the lateral spatial resolution. Compared to a\ntriboelectrification-induced electroluminescence (TIEL) sensor\nwithout the conductive layer, the luminescence intensity is enhanced\nby 90%, and the lateral spatial resolution of ∼500 μm\nis achieved. The HR-TIEL sensor is then demonstrated to reveal the\nsurface texture on a nitrile glove. It relies on neither additional\npower supplies nor complex wiring/circuit design. This work paves\nthe way for the feasible detection of tactile stimuli such as touch\nand slipping, which will be potentially used in robotics, human–machine\ninterface, flexible and wearable electronics, and so forth.